The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a four-game sweep over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday and now face the Philadelphia Phillies to begin a season-long 10-game road trip.
The Dodgers are riding a five-game winning streak heading into the weekend set at Citizens Bank Park and look for a bit of revenge. Philadelphia took three of four at Dodger Stadium last week, and were one out away from completing a sweep.
Thanks to a two-out ninth-inning rally that was capped off by a two-run walk-off double from Gavin Lux, the Dodgers rode that momentum into their series with the Diamondbacks.
At 25-12, the Dodgers enter the series in first place in the National League West and with the best winning in the league. However, they are only 5-5 against the Phillies dating back to last season and need Julio Urías to rebound after his disastrous outing on Saturday.
Urías allowed four home runs to the Phillies and five earned runs on eight total hits over six innings of work. Even with four consecutive starts of six innings pitched, Urías has yet to find his strikeout stuff and has struggled to generate whiffs (25th percentile among pitchers).
He has seen his strikeout rate drop nearly 10% since last season but has maintained an elite spin rate on his fastball (97th percentile) and curveball (92nd percentile). Urías holds a 2-3 record with a 3.00 ERA and a 4.93 FIP in 36 innings this season.
The Dodgers face Ranger Suárez and hope to solve the talented left-hander who burst onto the scene after converting from a relief pitcher in 2021. In his last start against L.A., Suárez held them to just three runs over seven innings and retired the final 11 batters he faced.
Suárez has had a slow start to the season, but ample run support has helped him attain a record of 4-1, with an ERA of 3.72 and a 4.50 FIP in 36.1 innings.
After setting a Dodger Stadium record as the only visiting player to have three consecutive games with a home run and at least two extra-base hits, Bryce Harper had the day off for the series finale and it was the only game the Phillies happened to lose.
During his last 10 games, Harper has a .450 batting average with seven doubles, five home runs, four walks and 12 RBI. But he remains out of the lineup since May 14 due to receiving a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to treat a slight tear in the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow.
The Dodgers lineup is receiving incredible production from Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, as the duo has accounted for 11 extra-base hits in their last seven games. Hanser Alberto starts at third base, effectively taking the place of Max Muncy in the lineup due in some part to Philadelphia starting a lefty.
Alberto’s last time in a game ended with him pitching the ninth inning of a blowout win against the Diamondbacks.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
SS: Trea Turner
C: Will Smith
DH: Justin Turner
LF: Chris Taylor
CF: Cody Bellinger
3B: Hanser Alberto
2B: Gavin Lux
Phillies lineup
1B: Rhys Hoskins
3B: Alec Bohm
RF: Nick Castellanos
2B: Jean Segura
DH: Kyle Schwarber
C: J.T. Realmuto
SS: Johan Camargo
LF: Odúbel Herrera
CF: Roman Quinn
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